Like the title says, my 3 year old thoroughbred has lost the same shoe twice now within 3 weeks. First time she lost it, she was galloping around the pasture with my other horse. She stepped on the back and it flew off. I got the shoe put back on (i actually got all of her feet reset because she due in about 2 weeks anyway). Today I got home from work, went out to feed and the same shoe is gone again. I'm not sure how she did it this time but its a good possibility she did it the same way.

She does wear pull-on bell boots 24/7, and they are the correct size. I scheduled the farrier to come out on Monday and I'm just hoping she won't pull it again. Any ideas as to why the shoe keeps coming off or suggestions on what to do about it?

Like the title says, my 3 year old thoroughbred has lost the same shoe twice now within 3 weeks. First time she lost it, she was galloping around the pasture with my other horse. She stepped on the back and it flew off. I got the shoe put back on (i actually got all of her feet reset because she due in about 2 weeks anyway). Today I got home from work, went out to feed and the same shoe is gone again. I'm not sure how she did it this time but its a good possibility she did it the same way.

She does wear pull-on bell boots 24/7, and they are the correct size. I scheduled the farrier to come out on Monday and I'm just hoping she won't pull it again. Any ideas as to why the shoe keeps coming off or suggestions on what to do about it?

As always, thank you all in advance!

There are a lot of reasons why a horse may pull a shoe and it can be as frustrating for the practicing farrier as it is for the client.

A few reasons include dorsal/palmar imbalance in the fore feet; excess caudal support/length; excess hind toe length; excess medial/lateral fit; interference/over-reaching. Environment can be a significant contributor. So can equine conformation. Sometimes it's nothing more than a horse hooking the heels on a fence line.

Dialing in a horse can be an exercise in compromise. Give them all the support and/or adjustments to caudal elevation that best benefits the horse and the risk of pulling a shoe seems to increase. Fit them tight or short and the shoes stay on to the detriment of the animal.

So, what can be done to improve the situation?

Proper fit is important. The trouble is in knowing what "proper" is for a given horse.

Make sure the shoes are boxed and safed! In my opinion, this is critical to keeping properly fit shoes on.

Make sure the shoe is fit and balanced as best as possible around the center of articulation. A 50/50 balance is considered ideal but not always possible.

If conformation is a factor (downhill, deep reaching, etc), make sure the heel buttress is covered but forgo length in excess of that coverage.

Reduce breakover length of the fores (setback, rolled or rockered toes). Increase load/unload timing on the hinds (Perimeter fit, slightly extended heels, etc). If the horse presents a downhill conformation, I may rocker the hind toes.

Hunter fit (tight through the heel quarters) on the fores. This may necessitate shorter shoeing cycles.

Properly fit bell boots can make a lot of difference, particularly for horses at liberty.

High nails, clinched small. If the horse does pull a shoe, we want the nails to come out clean. Small, thin clinches will unfold, allowing the nail to pull out without damaging the distal wall.

Clips can improve staying strength while reducing the number of needed nails but aren't appropriate for all horses. Avoid quarter clip use on horses with boxy (narrow) feet.

In extreme cases I may spoon the heels of the front shoes.

Patience while the farrier tries to figure out what works best for your horse. Presuming your farrier is reasonably competent, changing farriers will only mean repeating the "dial-in" cycle.

That was my horse last spring. Farrier added front toe clip to shoes, bell boots to protect them from the hinds, and added Horseshoer's Secret to his diet to strengthen the hooves from the inside. We stopped using the front toe clips early fall and haven't had a problem since.

Diet...adequate for needs and balanced in protein, lysine, methionine, copper, zinc and biotin. Feed the hoof. If you are in the "down" season, I'd pull the shoe and promote proper circulation as well. No blood flow = no healing. Over-reaching should not be a problem if the hooves, like the diet are properly balanced.

That's a big assumption, based on so little info IMO. Bell boots are for overreaching, which is often due to hoof imbalance, but there are other reasons, such as conformation, back probs, fitness, that can cause overreaching too.

Hey guys thanks for all the replies, I havent been able to respond because of my busy work schedule. Anyways, my farrier has been away so he isnt able to come until monday. Her foot seems fine, the shoe came off clean and there has been no damage to it while its been barefoot. Now im ready to lose my mind because this morning I went out to feed and her other front shoe is now gone! She's never gone without shoes but I am seriously considering getting her back shoes pulled and just seeing how she does without them. Any thoughts or opinions on doing this??Posted via Mobile Device

Hey guys thanks for all the replies, I havent been able to respond because of my busy work schedule. Anyways, my farrier has been away so he isnt able to come until monday. Her foot seems fine, the shoe came off clean and there has been no damage to it while its been barefoot. Now im ready to lose my mind because this morning I went out to feed and her other front shoe is now gone! She's never gone without shoes but I am seriously considering getting her back shoes pulled and just seeing how she does without them. Any thoughts or opinions on doing this??Posted via Mobile Device

that's what I do for one of my horses, and it seems to work better for her. I mostly do it because I do not want our small donkeys to recieve a fatal blow but I also do it because my mare is tender footed in the front, while not so in the back.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

OR

Log-in

User Name

Password

Remember Me?

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.